THIRTEEN Republican presidential candidates are scheduled to speak at the Lincoln Dinner in Iowa on Friday night.
The annual dinner “is an important fundraising event for the Iowa GOP and regularly draws candidates vying for the party’s nomination in the state,” The Hill’s Jared Gans and Julia Mueller note.
It’s the first Iowa event to feature both former President Trump, who leads by wide margins in polls, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who polls second.
The program begins at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET). The following candidates will speak (in this order) for no more than 10 minutes each:
Former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
Michigan businessman Perry Johnson
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Former Rep. Will Hurd (Texas)
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
Texas businessman Ryan Binkley
Radio host Larry Elder
Tech entrepreneur
Vivek Ramaswamy
Former President Trump
Iowa holds the Republican Party’s first presidential nominating contest in mid-January, and candidates will have much campaigning left after tonight.
Still, the event could be particularly significant for DeSantis, who recently laid off dozens of staffers and began ramping up media appearances.
DeSantis has been touring Iowa with Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting his bid, this week.
The event could also be an opportunity for lower-polling candidates to catch some attention.
“These types of speeches should be viewed by candidates who aren’t in the lead — and at this point, that’s all but one — as an opportunity to reset the narrative or reintroduce their brands,” GOP strategist Michael Zona, a former staffer for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), told The Hill.
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